capacitor
Americannoun
noun
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An electrical device consisting of two conducting plates separated by an electrical insulator (the dielectric), designed to hold an electric charge. Charge builds up when a voltage is applied across the plates, creating an electric field between them. Current can flow through a capacitor only as the voltage across it is changing, not when it is constant. Capacitors are used in power supplies, amplifiers, signal processors, oscillators, and logic gates.
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Compare induction coil resistor
Etymology
Origin of capacitor
First recorded in 1925–30; capacit(y) + -or 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Electrically, these fractured zones may act like capacitors.
From Science Daily
Pulsed power stores energy in large capacitors and releases it in a burst, producing extremely high power for a brief moment, like a controlled lightning bolt.
I wouldn’t thank Doc Brown’s flux capacitor for my millions.
The metallic ore contains tantalum, which is used to produce high-performance capacitors in a range of electronic devices, making it in high demand worldwide.
From BBC
Look forward to a Tiffany “I Think We’re Alone Now” moment, nods to great bands like the Fall, and a well-timed mention of a flux capacitor.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
